Oil and Gas Lease Internet Auction Pilot

Current law requires that Federal lands first be offered for oil and gas leasing by competitive oral auction. In the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress directed that the Bureau of Land Management pilot an Internet lease auction as an alternative to the oral auctions required by the Mineral Leasing Act. This pilot examines the feasibility and gains to be achieved by conducting virtual auctions with Internet web pages as the medium, to evaluate potential savings and benefits to the Federal government and lease sale participants. After the pilot, the BLM will then determine whether to recommend an amendment to the Mineral Leasing Act allowing for Internet lease auctions on a permanent basis

This web page is intended to provide the interested public with information about the pilot—the development of the pilot system, the pilot sale schedule as it develops, and links to the pilot website when it is released to the public.